Mexico is a land of extreme diversity: the superficial glitz of fly-in, fly-out tourist resorts coexists with awe-inspiring ancient cities, and snow-capped volcanoes slope down to pine forests, deserts and balmy tropical beaches. The bursting industrial megalopolis of Mexico City is a one-hour flight from the resource-rich southern state of Chiapas, where Indian insurgents recurrently tangle with the ruling party's paramilitary forces. Up along the northern border, Mexico's disorienting tumult of heritages merge with the air-conditioned cultures of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
Mexico's landscape and its people reflect the country's extraordinary history - part Indian, part Spanish. One look at this country is enough to remind visitors that there is nothing new about the so-called New World. Despite the considerable colonial legacy and rampant modernization, there are still over 50 distinct indigenous peoples, each with their own language, maintaining vestiges of their traditional lifestyles.
Facts:
Area: 1,972,000 sq km (769,080 sq mi)
Population: 100,294,036 (growth rate 1.73%)
Capital city: Mexico City (22 million people)
People: Approximately 80% mestizo (mixed European and Indian descent) and 10% indígena
(Native Americans or Indians - including Nahua, Maya, Zapotecs, Mixtecs, Totonacs, and
Tarascos or Purépecha)
Language: Spanish and over 50 indigenous languages
Religion: 90% Roman Catholic, 6% Protestant
Government: Democracy
President: Vincente Fox Quesada
GDP: US$815.3 billion
GDP per head: US$8300
Annual growth: 4.8%
Inflation: 18.6%
Major industries: Food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel,
petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism
Major trading partners: USA, Canada, Japan
Dates © Lonely Planet 2000